The Dog at the Door
THEMES: House- old/dark
-"Beyond the tangled shrubs the streetlamps cast a faint light, but the old house at the end of the cul-de-sac was always overhung with darkness"
-"Even in the day time the huge trees around it-camphor laurel and pittosporum- kept it dim and gloomy, hidden from the sun"
-"the kitchen door closed and the lights went out. He could imagine him walking down the passageway to her bedroom"
Supernatural/ Mental Illness
- The old woman seems to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)"The bedroom light went on. She'd be tucking her hot water bottle in side the bed. Then she checked all the doors again, even though she'd already checked them several times that evening- the Yale lock, the mortice, the bolts, all the windows. Then she'd check all the electric switches, unplug the television set, lift the phone to make sure it hadn't been cut off since it hadn't rang all day"
- The Man/ Stalker- " Instead of giving herself all those airs when she was a kid, playing the violin and spouting poetry, she should have been learning how to look after a place"
Macabre (Horror/ Mystery/ Fear)
- "He likes her fear, he liked to make her afraid"
- "When he heard her get out of bed he slipped back into the shadows. He knew what she would do: peer out through the window, whisper, who's there?, trying to keep the fear out of her voice, then would go back to bed waiting for him to ring again"
History/ Memories
- "She had been fearless as a girl. but old age and loneliness had undone all of that."
- "They always barked if they heard anyone outside. The memory made her chuckle"
- she was stalked for years
- "I'd better let Shadow out before father hears him."
Please comment on this blog about the:
Plot
Character
Themes
Quotes
Meaning- what does the writer want you to think
in The Dog at the Door
Is there anything similar about this short story and other's within Dark House?
what are the characters afraid of?
how is fear created in this short story?
how do the characters deal with fear?
WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON SOME OF THE QUESTIONS POSED?
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Was there realy anyone at the door?
ReplyDeletei dont think there was anyone at the door, i think that she is just imagining that there is someone at the door, maby because she has done something when she was young to the man? but i really think that she is imagining the man.
Why did someone want to scare her?
maybe because she has done something to that person when she was younger, or that he wanted to take care of her because she lived by her self or he didn't want her to live in that house anymore.
1. Was there someone really at the door?
ReplyDeleteI dont think there was i think she was dreaming.
2. Why did he want to scare her?
I really have no idea why, maby he was a disterbed person who liked to scare people for no reason!
Dog at the Door - Gillian Rubinstein..
ReplyDeletePlot: A man was forbidden from Helen around 60 years ago. He is now frightening the old woman at night time by constantly ringing on her door bell.
Craig is her great nephew and the only relative that still speaks to Helen. He sets up a tape for Helen which is the noises of his dog barking. She plays it when the man rings her door bell during the night, to try and scare him away.
Characters: Helen, Craig, Archy (the dog), Man ringing the bell,
Who is the storyteller?
????
Who is the male who was forbidden from Helen?
??
What is Helen so afraid of?
I think Helen's afraid of living, she's lived so long by herself and with her parents & when her parents die she is forced to live her own life by herself with no-one to help her. So she is frightened.
Does Archy attack Helen?
I think at the end of the book Archy would of attacked Helen, because she is kinda sleep walking and dreaming about her childhood. Craig explains in a part of the story that Archy is a very vicious dog, so that's why i think he would of attacked her.
Why is the man so obsessed with scaring the old lady?
Because he's a twisted old man.
=)
The dog at the door
ReplyDeletethe dog at the door is a very confusing story.
The plot is a man was forbin from helen 60 years ago and now wants to scarethe old woman by ringing her door bell. The man is really starting to scare her and her nefew told her she should get a dog or move into a home ( old people home). But tshe doesnt want to. Craig then tapes his dogs barking and gives it to Helen. Then Helen uses the tape to scare off the bell ringer.
Why did he want to scare her?
I think he wanted to scare her to get even/ get back at her for making him forrbin to see her. Or maybe he is just in the head!!!
Was there someone at the door?
I think there was someting at the door as it describes the person planning/ ringing the door bell. It also describes the dog attacking him at the front door
What was Helen affraid of?
I think she was affraid of being hurt/deing, because their parents might of had something bad to them.
Not being able to be in control.
The Dog at the Door - Gillian Rubinstein
ReplyDeleteThis story is about a man who hides in a womans garden so he can sneek up to her door during the night to ring her bell in order to scare her.
The womans grandson gets her a reccording of his dog barking so they can try to svcare the man off, however this has no effect on the man because he knows she doesnt have a dog.
Question 1
Was there really someone at the door?
i think there was actually at man at the door because it tells the reader at the start of the story about the person who hides in the garden and rings her bell.
Although i belive there is a person at the door and dont think that he rings it as constantly as the woman says he does.
What was Helen Affraid of?
i think she was affraid of the unknown, if that makes sense. i think that she is scraed of not knowing who is at the door, or what life would be like if someone come and stayed with her again.
Why did the man try to scare Helen?
i think he just wanted to get back at her for his heartbrake over 60 years ago when he was a boy.
Dog at the Door-Gillian Rubinsteinan
ReplyDeleteDog at the door is about a man who hides in and elderly ladies,Helen, garden an knocks on her door in the middle of the night trying to scare her. Helens only remaining relative,craig,records his dog barking for Helen to play when the man knocks, but the man knows she does not have a dog and is not affected by the tape ......:P
Questions....
-Was there really someone at the door?
Yes I believe that there really is someone at the door because some of the story is put from there prospective.
-If so why are they trying to scare her?
Because she broke there heart of 60 years ago.
-What is Helen really afraid of???
I think that Helen is afraid of death and having someone else live with her. Also not knowing, things like who is at the door.
:P
The story was about a boy when he was ten was forbidden to a house, the girl at the house was 16 and coudlnt see that he liked her she asked her dad to forbid him from coming.
ReplyDelete60 years later...
He is now taking revenge on her and messing with her brain by hiding in her garden and knocking on her door bell, to create his revenge from 60 years ago. she never married and had lived in that house all her life, even with her parents. But after they died that all cahnged...
Her cousin comes over (Craig)and tries to be nice knowing that he might have a chance at getting the enheritance when she keels over. He comes over every know and then, and one day the women keeps getting these door bells rings at night waking up to find noone there..Craig comes up with and idea seeing that she doesnt want to live in a nursing home or get a puppy. He gets his dog to bark and growl and records it so she can play it when the person rings on her bell next.
It doesnt work as he watches her all the time and knows that she doesnt have a dog.
THE CONCLUSION & QUESTIONS;
-It seems like the man is actually a teenager in the book still even when he is actually around 74 years old.??
-I dont get the last paragraph!! :s
-What happens to Craig & Helen (The old lady)??
-Where did the stalker go when he was in his teens?
* Was someone/something really at the door?
ReplyDeleteYes, yes there was.
* Was it really a dog at the door?
I so thought it was until i saw everyone
elses saying that it was a person, sooo, im confused.
* Why is he trying to scare Helen?
Because Helen made him feel worthless 60 years ago. She broke his heart.
--Why is the dog so agressive?
ReplyDeleteI DONT KNOW!!
--I there someone trying to haunt Helen?
Yes i think there is because in parts, he is telling the story